Nepal has become the world’s front-runner for tiger conservation. On Friday, the country announced that it has 355 of the endangered cats within its borders, almost tripling its known population since its estimate of 121 tigers in 2009.

In 2010, all 13 countries that have tigers in the wild pledged to double their tiger numbers. Only Nepal has met this goal. These countries had met during the Global Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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In an interview with National Geographic, Abishek Harihar, the deputy director of the tiger program at the wildcat conservation group Panthera said that Nepal’s successes are largely the result of “strong government buy-in” for tiger conservation and the enforcement of strict anti-poaching policies.

According to Panthera, at the start of the 20th century, more than 100,000 tigers roamed the planet, but loss of habitat wiped out more than 90 percent of their range. Trophy hunting and poaching for their skins and bones—used in China and elsewhere in Asia were held to make products including tiger bone “wine”. Today, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and southern China have no tigers in the wild.

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In Nepal, punishment for poaching a tiger includes 15 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

Since the 1970s, Nepal has established as many as five national parks where most of its tigers live. They are  heavily patrolled by park staff and army personnel. Tiger protections also have helped other threatened animals such as rhinos, elephants, and pangolins, among others.

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Tiger-human conflict on the rise

Between July 2021 and July 2022, tigers killed as many as 16 people in Chitwan National Park, according to Babu Ram Lamichhane, a biologist at the National Trust of Nature Conservation, Nepal. In contrast, he says, in the previous five years combined there were 10 attacks (and resulting deaths) in the park. 

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In June 2022, a tiger attacked and injured a 41-year-old woman in Bardiya district, close to one of the largest areas of tiger habitat. The incident, according to The Kathmandu Post, incensed the community, and people blocked the main road, demanding better protection from wildlife. To disperse the protesters, security forces deployed tear gas shells and opened fire, leading to multiple injuries and one death.